At lunch, V is eating a sandwich on top of a gargoyle at the top of a building in New York.
"I can't even eat properly because of the crimes in the city. How the hell did Spidey do it?"
While eating, a pickle slips away from the sandwich filling, falling to the ground. "Nooo! MY PICKLES!"
It's been a stressful two months. Mainly because of the requirement for the quest to be completed. He needed to be acknowledged by the citizens of the city.
"Because of that, I had to expand my scope to Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens… "
The trouble isn't only on him, but also with the team of agents that follows him around. They are looking haggard more and more every day.
The reason he couldn't disappear is that he didn't have a finale.
"All stories have a finale. Something for the people to remember me by"
He also has been looking for traces of Kleo. He had managed to destroy more than 500kg of drugs searching for the guy. Even with his intelligence network, he couldn't find the guy.
"You know, even if I destroy it, more and more pop out every single day"
The city that never sleeps always has a dark corner around the edges. Constantly trying to sink the people into darkness.
"To be honest, I don't ever think I will become a street hero again."
Ryan who is controlling V right now said. A lot of things happened in his time as a hero. The crystal ring he stole from Shield mission before is a dead-end for him.
For the two months, Stark has been showing signs of radiation poisoning. He is drinking chlorophyll juice every single day.
"As a result, Stark has been extra annoying lately"
With media appearances and Iron Man bothering V while he is swinging through the city, Tony has lived a busy life. V got a period of peace as Tony returned to Malibu right now.
The town of New Mexico is also being monitored by him, in case a hammer falls from the sky.
He had been keeping busy by trying to develop a country and upgrading his spaceship shielding technology.
"The reward is now 3 times more advanced than my current technology. Nice!"
The analysis of the soil sample of other planets and exoplanets has already been completed. The quest is very fulfilling for him. A dream to go into outer space, even from his previous life, is completed.
He appointed Yinsen as the Captain of the ship. The guy will fly towards the Kuiper belt once in a while and bring some kids with him for a tour of outer space.
He'd also give Yinsen some Pim Particle disk to bring back some mineral-rich asteroids.
Most work is done by the Red Queen as work on the spaceship is automated.
Yinsen is just there for the variables. He's not afraid the guy will betray him, as Yinsen is trustworthy.
He did ask him to not go through the jump point now, as he didn't have the complete star maps yet. They may be lost in space if they jump.
"Urgh, I couldn't finish my sandwich again this time." A notification about a school shooting is pinging from ALBUS.
V jumps off from the top of the 50-story building and uses his 3d aerial maneuver belt when he's 10 meters from the ground.
'The best part of swinging is when you free fall from a building. That feeling is awesome'
He checks the notification. A hostage situation is occurring at a school in Hell's kitchen.
"Wait, this is a chance!"
The suspect in the school shooting is actually... "KLEO! "
…
In the school in front of Midtown high, there are 30 or more kids who are tight up with a bomb jackets. Kleo, who had descended into madness, screams when some news reporter is nearby.
"VIGILANTE, DO YOU HEAR ME! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE OR I'LL EXPLODE ALL OF THESE KIDS!"
Kleo is out of options. He tried to make trouble for the kingpin but he failed as he didn't know his whereabouts. Roxxon company had cut ties with him after the incident.
His mistress and wife left him. His empire, built on drug money, crumbled to the ground as he couldn't deliver to his supplier overseas.
He needs to take it out on someone. And who is better than the annoying kid who contributed to his demise.
He joined a discussion online on the dark web to find some people who want to take revenge on their school.
The bullied victims get together for one last hurrah before they kill themselves. They hated school as it brought them nothing but misery.
Kleo takes advantage of it to stage a hostage situation to get V to surrender.
The situation deteriorated when police were now surrounding the school. Sirens blaring all over the area. Some of the gunners are beating up the hostages, publically.
"People like you who have everything and pretend as if you care about me!! But in the end, you just want to bully me!!" A deranged 20 years old projected his younger self situation by beating up a 15 years old kid.
Kleo doesn't mind what happened to the hostages. All he wants is V.
In a mansion in Malibu, Tony is now watching the news. "JARVIS, how long will it take for me to get there?"
"Sir, flying at Mach 5, you can get there in 30 minutes."
Tony said "Then, I have to try"
He puts on his Mark 3 armor and flies over to New York. From LA to NY he has to cross from the west coast to the east coast, flying across the United States.
Captain George Stacy is on the site. He uses a megaphone to negotiate with the terrorist for the hostages. The discussion quickly fails as Kleo only wants V to arrive.
Kleo becomes irritated. "I'll count to 10, if you're not here, consider the kids dead. 10…9…8…"
The kids are crying, the madman is serious. "3..2.."
"Stop!"
V arrives at the scene. "Why are you obsessed with me? I don't swing that way mind you".
He quickly assesses the situation. There are 5 active shooters and a dead-man switch on Kleo's left hand.
"Now that I'm here, why don't you let the kids go." He tested the water. Kleo laughs like a madman. "Hahahaha"
"If you want me to let them go, why don't you throw the knife away." V obeyed and threw his dagger towards Kleo.
Seeing the obedience, Kleo becomes more confident.
"Now, if you manage to stand up after this, I will let them go. No other conditions. But you can't fight back" As V is silently agreeing, Kleo ordered.
"Boys... BEAT HIM UP!"
The shooter surrounds V and starts to punch and kick him. But he keeps standing.
"Don't you eat your lunch today, why did your punch not have energy in it?" V instigated while spitting out blood from his mouth.
' Is this the best Kleo can do? *Tsk* As expected of a third-rate villain. It barely passes my requirement for retirement'
Ryan didn't take this thing personally at all. He is at home eating a slice of cake while watching himself beaten up on the TV channel.
"Captain Stacy, shouldn't we do anything?" An officer asked. They are seeing a man being tortured in front of them, but they cannot do anything about it.
When George shook his head, the officer yelled, "Damn it all.! MAKE SURE YOU KEEP STANDING V!"
Even snipers couldn't do anything as the fuse is a dead-man type. If Kleo loosens his grip, then all the students are dead.
V got beaten up for a few minutes, his body staggered for a while, but he kept standing. He can feel that his inner organ is bruised. Some bones are fractured.
Ryan could take the cowardly way and cut off the pain connection from the clone. But he didn't.
"It's suffocating… right?" V suddenly talks, making the bullied young adult that is beating him up stunned.
"The world doesn't listen to you. Even when you yell at them. When you fight back, you're the bad guy"
"SHUT UP!" One of the assaulters hits V's head with the back of his shotgun.
He smiles at the guy. "People say that life will be better. But it's hard to find a way out. Right?"
"What the hell do you know about our pain?" V got kicked in his spine. He staggers and almost falls, but he collects himself and stands upright.
"I know it too well," V said ambiguously. Ryan knows the feeling. He got beaten up every day at school in his previous life.
Sometimes, the beating even continues at home. He couldn't find a way out. All he can do is keep on living, and hope for a better day.
" People will judge you for your decision, but they'll never know what options you had." He said to these young men.
Kleo, who sees the hesitation on his men's faces, takes matters into his hand. He uses a rifle and shoots at V!!
The young man snaps out of it and continues beating up the vigilante.
Kleo laughs like a madman" Now, continue talking. Why are you so quiet now! "
" No I just need water, my throat is dry from too much talking", V said.
His body is badly beaten, his suits are torn all over, and his bleeding didn't stop.
Kleo becomes mad! "Why won't you break!"
He pulls out a gun and fires a couple of shots at V. *Bang Bang Bang* bullets are penetrating his flesh.
The reporter who sees this has tears in her eyes, because even when he's badly bleeding, even after all that. Not once! He didn't fall once!
His knees are shivering, his eyes unfocused, but he keeps standing up. He staggered to near where Kleo is.
While he is walking, he sees the look in the hostage's eyes. Some are fearful. Some placed all their hope on him. It makes him wonder.
'Does believing in a hero worth it?'
'Believing in a hero is like believing in something higher than yourself. It's really stupid. It's like you couldn't do it yourself '
'A hero is also stupid. To be able to sacrifice yourself for some ideals, even when you're about to become marginalized. When you took one for the well-being of others though you remain anonymous
'Is either side worth it?'
With difficulty talking, he arrives at Kleo's position. "You… shouldn't be… Such a… quick shot… your wi...fe…
… Wouldn't… Like… It"
Kleo feels refreshed seeing V in this state. A manic smile sprouts on his face.
"Why don't you die standing up! I swear if you do, I won't kill the kids."
"That's not... The.. Conditions.."
Kleo laughs like a madman "HAHAHAHA"
"I MAKE THE CONDITIONS! YOU'RE A DOG THAT SHOULD FOLLOW MY EVERY ORDER" Kleo punches V's wounds, and keeps grinding at it.
In a small voice, V is trying to say something.
"What is it my dog? I couldn't hear you" Kleo puts his ear near V's mouth.
"I said... A bad owner... Will get BITTEN!"
Instantly, V grabs the dagger that he threw earlier as he is in Kleo's position.
*Slash * He severs Kleo's hand that holds the fuse from the rest of his body. "ARGH!!"
George Stacy didn't miss the timing and ordered: "SUBDUE ALL OF THEM!".
Snipers start to do their work. The police rush to get the children to safety. All 5 shooters are shot instantly.
V is still facing Kleo, who is holding his cut-off wrist. "I.. Didn't... Fall...You... Bastard.." He punches the guy who is still screaming because he lost his arm in the head, into oblivion.
"It's over". Losing a lot of blood, he fell to his knees. He couldn't hold on any longer. His grips on his dagger loosen and it falls to the ground.
"V, you need to get to the doctor." Captain Stacy told him. He wanted to arrest the guy, but now it's not the time to do that. "Here", V gives Kleo's cut-off hand that has the fuse to George.
*Swooosh* At the moment, an Iron man comes to the scene. "Am I too late?", he said. The kids are now safe, did he make a useless trip?
An officer said. "The kids are safe because of V", he tries to point at the vigilante, but he's no longer there. Only a pool of blood is there. "Where did he go?" People are clamoring.
The officer is worrying. "V is badly injured. He shouldn't move now." They keep on searching for him, but to no avail. Even Iron Man did it, but he couldn't be found. He just mysteriously...disappeared.
On the 9 o'clock news. Reporter April O`Neil is doing coverage about the incident.
"... The vigilante, V, keeps standing up even after he's been beaten for almost 30 minutes. After the incident is over, his pair of daggers are left on the scene…."
"Did this mean the end for the vigilante? Or should I say, hero?.."
April interviews a boy who is a victim of this incident. "V shows me, even when things are scary when people keep beating you up. You need to keep standing!"
The discussion about the incident is going viral. Some people blame the incident on V, saying that the terrorist only wants him. Others hail him as a hero.
Meanwhile, the person in the discussion is sipping tea in his house. V disappeared as Ryan, in a full black cloak, used invisibility magic to get near the scene, and summoned the clone back.
He hears the sound of the quest complete when he arrives at his house.
"Finally it's completed. The rewards are here. I will check it soon"
A few days passed, and people kept talking about V, but he never returned. Although he won't come back, his shadow will always be there, in the heart of the citizens.
Phil Coulson is anxious. He knows what kind of injury V received. "This mission could be over anytime soon" Maybe the guy had died somewhere.
There are some missions he'd fail in his life as an agent, but never did he couldn't start the mission. "Never once did I manage to talk to him!"
What Shield has is his dagger. They analyze it and know that it's just a normal one. The dagger is then hanged in Midtown high, as per the student's request to the police.
They wanted to make sure that if V came back, he could get his dagger anytime he wants.
In V's previous base, Kai put V's outfit onto a plastic model and displayed it in a glass case. "I should at least do this for the character, as we have worked very hard on it"
The clone body is being used by others in the trading system now. "With the injury, even after healing him, it had cost the clone to drop into the tier 0 market. Hopefully, someone else will find a use for it."
Someone does. A paraplegic who reincarnated into a gaming-based universe. But that is a story for later.
…
Nick Fury is mad. "How the hell did someone just disappear? Could any of you tell me?"
"Coulson? Hill? ANYONE?". Shield had been searching for V's whereabouts for so long, but they hadn't got the slightest clues about him.
Fury is reluctant to let V go, even when he does not show up to become a street hero for a while now.
'The guy is very careful, an ideal agent. He's also quick on his feet to come up with schemes. He's brilliant in technology and physics.
I want him in SHIELD as his level is the same as the Black Widow and Hawkeye.'
The director has been thinking about bringing V into his Avenger Initiative. But it's like the guy doesn't exist anymore.
" Continue to monitor the suspected persons. I want eyes and ears on all of them. "Fury said. Shield has several suspects, but none of them is V.
When he calms down, he asks his confidants." Has Natasha infiltrated the Stark industry yet? "
Hill replied," She has, now she's working at the legal department in New York. "
"Good, tell me when they made contact."
…
A few days later after the incident. The black student who is beaten up at the beginning of the incident is looking at the dagger that V uses before he walks out of the school.
The school has been over for a while, so there are only a few students left. The young kid is depressed. "Did he die to save us?" he mutters.
Not only him, but many students are also feeling the same way. After all, he is their protector.
"Even if he doesn't become a hero again, please… come back V" Some cried. Some are mad and start to blame others.
"If Iron Man comes earlier. If the police move earlier.."
Not only then, but Tony is also blaming himself. He's shutting himself down in the lab, trying madly to upgrade the Iron Armor. "A kid... He is a kid.." Tony mutters.
A kid that becomes a hero and helps others. He silently swears, that if there is another like V, he will do his best to support that guy.
Amidst the solemn atmosphere in the school, suddenly. *Ring* Alarms are blaring throughout the area. Shield is becoming busy.
"Is it him? Is he back?" Phil asked.
"We are not sure yet!" An agent replied.
Tony, who secretly places a camera near the dagger, saws the footage. He smiles brightly. "Son of a gun"
The students who hear the alarm, quickly realize it. They run to that place. And they see it. The glass display that holds the dagger is broken. The dagger is now gone.
There is a note on the broken glass. [This is mine. Thank you for keeping it for me. Love you ~]
Although V will never come out again, he will still be remembered by the public. He gave an impact on the children especially, to do the right thing.
Not only to children. There is a blind lawyer, a female teenager with super-strength, an escape from Roxxon who now wants to open a bar, a dojo trainer, and later on, a kid who got lost in the mountains and returned as a martial artist after years away from his hometown.